Breaker plate assembly for a disintegrator

ABSTRACT

A disintegrator of the type used in the sand and gravel industry. The breaker plate assembly of such a disintegrator is formed with two opposed projecting ribs, the ends of which form an opening for receiving a T-bar. A bolt passes through the T-bar and through the housing of the disintegrator through which means the breaker plate is secured to the housing in a manner to allow slight relative movement between the breaker plate and the housing.

Inventor Appl No.

Filed Patented Assignee Thomas Leroy Myers Lawrenceburg, Ind.

Oct. 29, 1968 May 25, I971 Stedman Foundry and Machine Company, Incorporated Aurora, Ind.

BREAKER PLATE ASSEMBLY FOR A DISINTEGRATOR 4 Claims, 1 Drawing Fig.

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,315,025 9/1919 Lawler 241/183 3,378,209 4/1968 Crocheron 241/182X FOREIGN PATENTS 680,012 2/1964 Canada 241/183 178,729 11/1906 Germany 241/183 Primary ExaminerDonald G. Kelly Attorney-Henry C. Westin ABSTRACT: A disintegrator of the type used in the sand and gravel industry. The breaker plate assembly of such a disintegrator is formed with two opposed projecting ribs, the ends US. Cl 241 /299, of which form an opening for receiving a T-bar. A bolt passes 241/183, 241/300 through the T-bar and through the housing of the disintegrator Int. Cl B02c 17/22 through which means the breaker plate is secured to the hous- Field of Search 241/182, ing in a manner to allow slight relative movement between the 183, 275, 2 99, 300, 284 breaker plate and the housing.

Patented May 25, 1971 3,580,520

INVENTOR THOMAS L MYERS ATTORNEY 1 BREAKER PLATE ASSEMBLY FOR A DIS INTEGRATOR In recent disintegrators the designs of the breaker plate have taken the form of identical arrow-shaped members constructed to project towards the center of the disintegrator which were connected to the housing in a manner where the pieces were either interconnected with each other or abutted against each other, and a fastener means was provided for holding the breaker plates against the housing.

in these breaker plates, the maximum wear usually took place at the apexes of the breaker plates and at their bases. While it has been possible to increase the cross-sectional area at the apex, difficulty has been found in the past in providing sufficient metal at the base of the breaker plates to resist the wear, and this is the usual place that failure has been experienced.

It is the object of the present invention not only to simplify and improve the manner of securing the breaker plates to the housing, but also to improve the section thickness at the base of the breaker plate to thereby increase its life.

it is still a further object of the present invention to provide in a breaker plate opposed ribs, including an opening between the ribs for receiving a T-bar through which passes a bolt for securing the breaker plate through the T-bar to the housing of the disintegrator.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide at the base of the breaker plate overlapping portions so that the adjacent breaker plates overlap each other and substantially increase the cross-sectional area of the breaker plates at the base.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide for a breaker plate a fastening assembly made up of a combination bolt and T-bar arrangement which, while holding the plate to the housing, allows it to be positioned in and between a vertical and horizontal position. This is accomplished in providing at least three separate support surfaces on the T-bar, one or more being employed depending on the position of the plate.

These objects, as well as various other features and advantages of the invention, will be better understood when the following description is read in light of the accompanying drawing which is a sectional view of a series of cooperative adjacent breaker plates constructed in accordance with the invention and shown mounted on a disintegrator.

In view of the fact that the designs and operations of disintegrators are well known in the art, it is deemed unnecessary to describe the disintegrator itself, although it should be pointed out that the breaker plates illustrated in the drawing are meant to be used in a cylindrical disintegrator, although it will be appreciated that they can be used in a more conventional-type with straight sides.

The drawing illustrates a breaker plate in the form of an arrow-shaped member, in which it will be appreciated that the breaker plate extends over the entire width of the disintegrator and may have a length of from 20 to 30 inches. The breaker plate, particularly the outer surface, is rounded at its apex so as to present a larger area for contact by the aggregate, and at its base it is provided with two cutouts 11 and 12. These cutouts are designed to receive complementary portions of the two adjacent and similar breaker plates 13 and 14. The overlapping relationship of the adjacent breaker plates provides a marked increase in the cross-sectional area of the plates, thereby greatly improving the wear performance in this very critical area.

Continuing to refer to the base of the breaker plate 10, it will be noted that it is provided with opposed ribs 15 and 16 which extend towards each other and terminate so as to provide an opening 17. In this particular breaker plate design there is provided two pairs of ribs on the opposite ends of the breaker plate and, therefore, each plate has two openings similar to the opening 17. Into the opening 17 there is inserted a T-bar 18 which has a stem portion 19 and a head portion 21. The thickness of the stem portion 19 of the T-bar is such that a predetermined clearance is provided between the adjacent ends of the ribs 15 and 16, the reason for which will be explained hereinafter. Similar clearances are provided between adjacent surfaces of the ribs 15 and 16. It will be noted that the lower end of the stem of the T-bar engages the inner surface of the housing 22 of the disintegrator and that the T-bar is provided with an opening 23 through its center which terminates in an enlarged opening 24 into which is received the head of a bolt 25, the bolt extending through the housing 22 and at which end it carries a nut 26.

To further facilitate the description of the improved breaker plate, it will be necessary at this juncture to identify specifically the supporting surfaces of the ribs. Accordingly, reference character 27 serves to identify the extreme end of the rib 15, 28 the end of the rib 16, and 29 and 31 serve to mark the inner surfaces of the ribs 15 and 16.

One of the features of the present invention is to provide a fastener for a number of breaker plates that can be employed without any modification to hold the plates in a desired position notwithstanding the particular location they may assume in the disintegrator. It will benoted that any one breaker plate may be mounted at the top of the disintegrator in one instance, and at the side in another instance, or any place between the horizontal and vertical positions.

with reference now to the drawing and assuming that the breaker plate is secured to the top of the housing so that the weight of the breaker plate is downward, it will be appreciated that the ribs 15 and 16 of the breaker plate move towards the T-bar so that its surfaces 29 and 31 engage the inside surfaces of the head of the T-bar. The clearance illustrated between these surfaces, however, is sufficient to allow the breaker plate to move relative to the T-bar, which is a stationary member. The nut 26, which is brought in tight against the housing 22, prevents the T-bar from moving any closer to the housing by virtue of the fact that the base of the T-bar engages the housing itself.

Considering now the breaker plate in the horizontal position so that its weight is in the direction downward and perpendicular to the axis of the bolt 25, it will be noted that the surface 27 of the projection of the rib l5 is the supporting surface for the breaker plate, a clearance being shown between the surfaces 29 and 31 and the head 21, in addition to a clearance shown between the rib 16 and the surface 28 of the rib.

As to the breaker plates that are positioned between the horizontal and vertical, in view of the clearances established between the T-bar and the ribs 15 and 16, the plates are able to adjust to the influence of their own weights and will either engage a T-bar by one or more of the surfaces 27, 28, 29 and 31.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, 1 have explained the principle and operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I consider to represent the best embodiment thereof. However, I desire to have it understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In a disintegrator having a breaker plate, said breaker plate having a base adjacent the housing of said disintegrator,

a cavity in said breaker plate formed by part of said base,

an opening in the base of said breaker plate extending from said cavity to the outside of said breaker plate at its base,

a first holding element positioned in said opening having a portion that forcibly engages the housing of said disintegrator and a portion received in said cavity and having a thickness slightly less than said cavity to permit limited movement of said breaker plate relative to said housing, and

a second holding element engaging said first element and said housing in a manner to forcibly hold said first element against the housing.

2. In a disintegrator according to claim 1 wherein said first element comprises a T-shaped bar having its head arranged in said cavity and its base in said opening,

said second element comprising a fastener having a portion that forciblyengages the head of said-T-shaped bar to firmly hold 'said bar against the housing of said disintegrator.

3. in a disintegrator according to claim 1 wherein the trans verse dimension of said opening is larger than the similar dimension of said first holding element creating a first and second clearance between the base of the breaker plate and said first holding element,

said first holding element comprising a head portion and a stem portion,

said stem portion being longer than the length of said opening creating a third and fourth clearance between the head portion and the base of said breaker plate, first and second holding surfaces for the breaker plate formed on said head portion of said first holding element,

said first and second holding surfaces being employed when said third and fourth clearances are taken up when the breaker plate is in a first position relative to said housing and displaced away from the housing,

third and fourth spaced-apart and parallel holding surfaces a number of breaker plates, at least two of which are arranged adjacent each other and have adjacent sides,

a projection of the adjacent side of one of said breaker plates, and

a cooperative recess formed on the adjacent side of the other of said breaker plates adapted to receive said projection and form an overlapping relationship in the base of the adjacent breaker plates. 

1. In a disintegrator having a breaker plate, said breaker plate having a base adjacent the housing of said disintegrator, a cavity in said breaker plate formed by part of said base, an opening in the base of said breaker plate extending from said cavity to the outside of said breaker plate at its base, a first holding element positioned in said opening having a portion that forcibly engages the housing of said disintegrator and a portion received in said cavity and having a thickness slightly less than said cavity to permit limited movement of said breaker plate relative to said housing, and a second holding element engaging said first element and said housing in a manner to forcibly hold said first element against the housing.
 2. In a disintegrator according to claim 1 wherein said first element comprises a T-shaped bar having its head arranged in said cavity and its base in said opening, said second element comprising a fastener having a portion that forcibly engages the head of said T-shaped bar to firmly hold said bar against the housing of said disintegrator.
 3. In a disintegrator according to claim 1 wherein the transverse dimension of said opening is larger than the similar dimension of said first holding element creating a first and second clearance between the base of the breaker plate and said first holding element, said first holding element comprising a head portion and a stem portion, said stem portion being longer than the length of said opening creating a third and fourth clearance between the head portion and the base of said breaker plate, first and second holding surfaces for the breaker plate formed on said head portion of said first holding element, said first and second holding surfaces being employed when said third and fourth clearances are taken up when the breaker plate is in a first position relative to said housing and displaced away from the housing, third and fourth spaced-apart and parallel holding surfaces formed on the stem portion of said first holding element, said third holding surface being employed when said first clearance is taken up when the breaker plate is in a second position relative to said housing and displaced away from said housing, said fourth holding surface being employed when said second clearance is taken up when the breaker plate is in a third position relative to said housing and displaced away from said housing.
 4. In a disintegrator according to claim 1 wherein there are a number of breaker plates, at least two of which are arranged adjacent each other and have adjacent sides, a projection of the adjacent side of one of said breaker plates, and a cooperative recess formed on the adjacent side of the other of said breaker plates adapted to receive said projection and form an overlapping relationship in the base of the adjacent breaker plates. 